Is paper clutter taking over your house? Between the paper you already have floating around and the deluge of incoming mail that seems to grow every day, it may seem like a losing battle. For a simple way to eliminate paper problems once and for all, Carol Keller, with Organizing Experts in the Los Angeles area, shares her four-step plan.
Step 1: Analyze where the paper clutter comes from.
Start by making a list of the types of paper that you handle every day. Common clutter culprits include the following:
· mail
· school or work papers
· magazines
· catalogues
· coupons
· receipts
· newspapers
Next, explore the reasons why the paper clutters up your home by asking yourself these questions:
· Do you have too much paper or not enough storage?
· If you have too much paper, what are you willing to eliminate altogether? Could you discontinue a newspaper subscription and read it online instead? Cut down on the number of magazine subscriptions?
· For the paper you want to keep, what kind of storage do you have available? A cabinet, closet or file drawer?
Step 2: Sort and purge.
Now it's time to make decisions about what will stay and what will go. You'll be sorting items into two categories: Keep and Recycle/Shred.
First, gather the loose papers, magazines, newspapers, etc., and bring them to your sorting area, preferably a clean, flat surface, like your dining table or kitchen counter.
Next, set out some boxes or bags for recycling and shredding. Bankers boxes work well for starting temporary files for the paper you are keeping.
Then the real work begins: Pick up each piece and make a decision about whether it goes or stays. If it stays, begin creating categories and group all like papers together.
If you can't decide what to keep, put it to the test by answering the following questions:
· Whom does the paper belong to?
· Does the paper have a purpose and what is that purpose?
· When might you need the paper if it's not important right now?
· Where might you use the paper?
If you can't answer the above questions, then recycle or shred the paper.
For magazines and newspapers you want to keep parts of, try these strategies from professional organizer Linda Koopersmith.
· Stick a Post-It on a magazine when you first begin reading it, marking down page numbers for articles you'd like to keep. Most consumer magazines now come with a page of stickers or bookmarks you can also use for the same purpose. After you're finished, find each entry and tear or cut out the page. Place them in a three-ring binder and use tabs to divide them by subject.
· Use an index for magazines that are kept intact — include magazine name, article/recipe title and date. Place this index in the binder with the other articles and store the magazines in a box in the garage or a closet. Label the box with the magazine name and dates, so you can get the right one quickly.
· When you like an article in a newspaper, cut it out instead of keeping the whole paper. Recycle the rest.
· After cutting out an article, instead of placing it in a pile or box, glue it to a white sheet of paper. One sheet of paper can hold an article on each side. Insert these articles in a binder and divide them into sections to make them easy to find.
Step 3: Classify, contain and label.
Papers that you are keeping will fall into two categories: Active or Reference. Your storage solution will be different for each of these categories.
Active papers will need to be front and center on a desk or counter for easy access. Desktop filing boxes work well as you can assign a folder for each person in the household or file by action. Some of the actions may include the following:
· Bills to pay
· Cards to mail
· Phone calls to make/RSVP to invitations
· Papers to sign and return
Reference papers can be stored away from your desk in a file cabinet or an archival container that can be stored in another room, the basement or garage. They should be labeled by category and placed in alphabetical order so you can retrieve them quickly and easily. Some possible categories for reference papers:
· Tax papers
· Personal property
· Vehicle records
· Education records
· Insurance
· Health history
Step 4: Create a regular decluttering routine.
The key to maintaining your new paper management is to create a regular routine for processing what comes into your home. Here are four tips to help you stay on track on a day-to-day basis:
· Sort the mail daily. Stand near a trash can as you sort and immediately toss what you don't want to keep.
· Create a specific place for paying bills and correspondence.
· Create a communication area with a family calendar.
· Set aside time for filing at least once a week.
In addition to purging paper on a daily basis, you'll want to take time throughout the year to evaluate your reference papers and rid yourself of any outdated or unneeded info. Here's a guide to understanding what financial records and other important papers you should keep and for how long:
Be sure to consult your CPA or financial consultant as to the length of time to keep papers that specifically pertain to you and your family.
Items you may toss after one year:
· Monthly bank and credit card statements (if you don't itemize deductions)
· Monthly or quarterly brokerage statements after reconciling. You do need to keep any buy/sell statements and reconcile with the year-end statement.
· Monthly mortgage statements but keep the year end statement which shows all interest and taxes paid.
· Paycheck stubs once you've reconciled them with your annual W-2 or 1099 forms.
Items to retain for seven years:
· W-2 and 1099 forms
· Year-end statements from credit card companies.
· Any business expenses that you claim.
· Annual mortgage, property tax or any tax-deductible expenses
· All papers that support your tax return for the past seven years. You can then purge the supporting documents and just keep the return.
Items to keep forever:
· All annual tax returns
· Year-end summaries from financial services companies.
· Information on the purchase price of all investments.
· Home-improvement records.
· Receipts for major purchases as long as you still own the item.
· Beneficiary designations
If you're claiming a home office on your tax return, you'll need to keep everything that relates to those expenses, such as utilities, rent or mortgage payments and office, phone and computer expenses. Keep a file for each category that you list as a deduction.
If you are not claiming a home office deduction, you may toss the following each month:
· Bank deposits and ATM receipts after recording them in your check register.
· Credit card receipts after you have checked for accuracy on your statement.
· Sales receipts for everyday purchases if there is no warranty.
· Utility statements when the next month's statement arrives.
Try these 10 easy steps to reduce the paper in your home.
1. Automate.
Sign up to make payments online. Companies will continue to send statements to your home, but now these statements can be easily filed without worrying about forgetting to pay.
2. Access the Trash.
Open incoming mail over the trash. Standing over the trash as you open mail, gives you easy access to the best place for junk mailings, outer envelopes, and any other paper clutter.
3.File It.
Find a filing cabinet and divide your important papers into categories. File incoming papers after opening the mail. Things that need attention or action can be place in the appropriate spot in the mail center (see below.)
4. Contain the Memories.
Create a place for paper memories. Youth artwork, birthday cards, and other memories need their own storage. Consider giving each family member a container to store memories. Once the container is full they may have to make choices about what to keep and what to throw out.
5. Evaluate Your Subscriptions.
Do you pay for multiple magazine and news subscriptions that you never get around to reading? Maybe you put them on the end table thinking you will find time to read them, but before you know it you have a stack as high as the ceiling to “get to.” Keep only the subscriptions you read on a regular basis. Consider donating magazines to a seniors center or shelter after you've read them.
6. Create a Mail Station.
Create a centralized place with stamps, pens, envelopes, paper, and slots to sort incoming and outgoing mail. Keeping all of the supplies together means you will be able to find them more easily when they are needed.
7. Have a Message system.
When the phone rings or visitors drop by, many people scrounge for the nearest scrap piece of paper to write message information on. If your address book looks like a pile of torn paper, it may be time to create a new message taking system. Have one place in your home where a pencil and a notepad are always available. Post messages in the same place every time so household members know where to look for their messages. Keep a household address book near the phone to take down permanent information in.
8. Cut the coupons.
Do you have a drawer full of unused expired coupons? It can be great to cut coupons and save money. But if you cut them, use them. Keep the coupons in a regular spot so that they can be easily accessed for a trip to the grocery store.
9. Regulate collections regularly.
Update your files, tossing outdated information yearly. Get rid of items you do not need to create room for the next year’s flood of paperwork.
10. Get rid of receipt mania.
Receipts kept for tax purposes can be filed under the appropriate heading. For those people who like to track all of their expenses, create a receipt "dropping point" that will temporarily hold the receipts until your weekly session of adding and evaluating them.
The key to cutting back on paper problems in your home is to reduce the incoming paper and then to create regular places to store the necessities that find their way to your door. Whether you toss it or file it, it won't find its way to a pile anymore.
If you love to store papers in binders, this might be an option for you:
Binder Storing Options
1.Invest in a good quality 3 hole puncher. Three hole punch all literature and place in the appropriate binder.
2. Place plastic sleeves in a three hole binder. Put literature in each sleeve.
1) School Notice Binders
Almost daily, literature from school of upcoming events, fund raising, tests, interviews and much more come into the home effortlessly. Use a three ring binder to organize all of the school literature. Organize the school notice binder by date. Use tabs to identify it by months, weeks, or days. This binder is best kept in the kitchen to keep track of all school literature.
2) Warranties Binder
Every time I make a new purchase they sell an extended warranty with it. Use a three ring binder to keep all of the warranties in a convenient location. I would use plastic sleeves to house each warranty separate with the bill attached and any other documents pertaining to the warranty. Organize the warranties in alphabetical order. Be sure to throw out expired warranties.
3) School Artwork Binder
Artwork and A+ papers are constantly plastered across my fridge. Use a three ring binder to keep the best of the best of the fridge artwork for you and your child to peruse later on in life. Organize by year, month or grade. Be sure to have a school artwork binder for each child.
4) Doctor's Binder
Doctor and dentist literature needs to be organized in a three ring binder. Place doctor requests, suggestions, lab reports and much more in the binder. The next time you have a query about medication; it will be at your fingertips. Organize the binder based on subjects, such as; bills, specialists, and lab reports.
5) Recipe Binders
Flipping through a magazine or newspaper and you find a great recipe for chicken quesadillas. Instead of keeping the entire magazine, clip the recipe and place in a plastic sleeve and store in a binder. Organize alphabetically or by the type of food. For example, one section is entrees and another is snacks. As well, cut out the photo of the meal to store in the binder, as the picture will make you want to create the special meal.
6) Events Binders
Birthday parties, weddings, sporting events are just a few functions we attend each year. Organize the binder by month and place in numerical order. This is a great resource for doing your monthly planner; all of the events are neatly organized for easy reference. As well, you are less likely to lose directions to your cousins wedding or forget your grandma's birthday party.
7) Emergency Binders
We have no idea what tomorrow brings and it is important to have all your documents in order. In the emergency binders, place all important phone numbers, monthly bills with phone numbers to the company, banking information, renting or mortgage responsibility, work numbers and any information that is used on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
I am a binder person for some things. I have the recipe binder, of course, doctor’s binder, school and emergency binder. The doctor’s binder was a necessity because of all the specialists my kids had to see. I took the binder with me. It has several tabs in it like “phone call” log, “doctor’s visits”, “test results”. Before I had the binder, I’d show up to the doctor’s visit and forget all my questions. And then I’d come home and forget what I was supposed to follow-up with. Now, it’s all written down. I write down the date, place, Doctor’s name and any others in attendance. I write down the “primary” purpose. Then I write all my questions to ask. I have several blank lines that I can take notes while the doctor is talking to me. And then I have a couple lines called “follow-up” and I write down what I’m supposed to do (ie. Call doctor in 1 week, make an appointment in one month, etc.) It’s also come in handy when we’ve gone to other specialists and they have a hard time reading other doctor’s notes. I call look at what I wrote down to confirm the information. My doctor’s binder and school binder are actually in the same binder. The school binder is a good thing to have if your child is on an IEP. We have evaluations and IEP meetings, that start to blur very quickly. I make sure that I take the binder so I have a copy of the most recent evaluations, etc. The binder also has a Therapy section in it. I have tabs for all my insurance authorization forms, current goals, etc. The doctor, school and therapists all seem to want the same information so that’s why I keep them all in the same binder. Makes for a larger binder at times (especially if you keep multiple kids’ together) but that’s what works for me.
If anyone would like me to email you the forms I have saved for the “phone call log”, “doctor’s appt log”, etc, let me know. I have them all in Word documents.
Many of you know that I have the Emergency Preparedness binder. I designed one and we made copies for members of our Relief Society last year. It contains my life, to put it simply. It will take you awhile to fill out all the forms, but it will save your life if you’re ever in a disaster. I keep ours with our 72 hour kits. It has sections for everything, from your insurance policies to your last will and testament. If anyone is interested in that one, let me know and I can email that to you. It really is worth the time and is a great thing to do with your husband. My hubby takes care of our bills and investments and I had no idea how many separate accounts we have. If he ever were to die, all I have to do is pull out the binder and I know all our accounts and such. (The key is to make sure you update it as things change)
I am a huge fan of opening and sorting the mail as soon as it comes into your home. And I try not to get the mail when I’m in my car (otherwise it never fails that it gets left in the car, or falls between the seats and is lost for months). I grab the mail, and then sit in my office where I have a garbage can, shredder, and file. I have a magazine holder there also, for any magazines. Once the holder is full, I sort through them and get rid of the old ones.
I think a good filing system is keep to keeping your papers organized. If you don’t have a cabinet, buy a nice plastic filing box (in case of flood). The key is to make sure the filing system is accessible. If you have to dig in the back of your bedroom closet to get to it, you’re not going to file very much. Keep the box/cabinet where you can easily get to it. My folders are pretty specific because of all the crap we own! I try to separate owner’s manuals by location of items. So I have a file for power towels and sporting equipment (garage stuff). I have one for kitchen appliances. I have one for stereo/tv equipment and so forth. I have one for our home (the purchase of it). I also have one for any improvements or receipts of things that break on the home. I have one for Gordon that contains any awards and college stuff for him, along with important medical stuff. Mine has the same, all my nursing licenses, school transcripts and medical. And the boys have one. For taxes, I don’t label them by year (because I’m too lazy to make a new label each year). I have 7 folders, labeled “current year”, “Year one”, “Year two” etc. Anything I need to keep for my 2010 taxes goes in the “current year”. All the W-2s I get for 2009 will go in “Year one”. When I file taxes, I print my tax form and store in the appropriate folder. Then at end of the year, I move the documents to the next folder. And whatever is in the last folder, I shred.
I used to be awful at keeping receipts. I’d have a huge folder of receipts and I could never find the one that I would need, if something broke. Now, it’s all organized. When I purchase something like a tv, I staple the receipt to the inside of the owner’s manual. Then, when it breaks and I have to call on the warranty, it’s all there together. No more huge files of receipts.
As far as bills go, we have opted to get most online and we pay online. This has drastically cut down on that paperwork. We also have opted for paperless bank statements. Just make sure that you download and back these up, if your bank doesn’t save them for several years online.
School papers! It’s amazing how many papers our kids come home with. We get artwork, homework, spelling lists, newsletters and papers that have to be signed and returned. My kitchen counters used to be covered in them! This is what we do, what works for us. As soon as the boys walk in the door, I stand in the kitchen and they bring me their backpacks and I pull everything out. I do my sorting in the kitchen because that’s where all my sorting supplies are. I have my calendar, dry erase/magnet boards, active file folders and recycle bin. Both boys have nice school folders that have two pockets, one side that is “keep at home” and the other is “return”. I pull out “keep at home” first, glance at their grades, and artwork, and then most of it goes in the recycle bin. If they did a REALLY good job, the paper will get hung up on the fridge but I try to keep my fridge empty most of the time (pet peeve!). If there is a spelling test or other paper like that, it goes on the boys’ magnet boards (I’ll discuss those in a minute) Next, I’ll look in the “return to school”. I set all homework in a pile, along with their homework logs. If there is a paper that needs to be signed and returned, it goes on the boys’ magnet boards also (different pile than the spelling list though). Maybe you’ll want to put it on the fridge. One thing I’ve learned is that if I don’t have it in visible sight, I forget. I also have a bulletin board in my kitchen that I occasionally use for these papers. Any papers that have important dates on them, I grab my calendar and mark them down immediately. If there are any papers like progress reports, I put them in our active folders.
I guess you could say that my kitchen has three zones-calendar, active folders, and kids’ zone. This is my calendar zone. I have my calendar, and then my bulletin board holds any current craft coupons or other papers that I need to see to remember. I put this month’s birthday cards up there so I remember to mail them. I love having the marker board because that’s our message board. When the phone rings, instead of grabbing a small piece of paper to write on, I just write on there. Then there is no losing the paper! Also, when we used to have a babysitter, I’d write our phone numbers up there for easy access.
Then I have our “active folders”. This is different from our “reference folders” that I described above. I have folders for each member of the family, coupons, phone lists, restaurants, therapy and school. I put takeout menus and coupons for restaurants in that one. Coupon one is obvious. Phone lists is for ward rosters, etc. In the school folder, I put any paperwork that I need to keep for the next couple months. It contains progress reports and stuff like that. Stuff that will eventually be thrown away or filed for long term in the “reference folders”. If I find a paper of Gordon’s and I’m not sure if it’s something I need to keep, I put it in there and then will make him go through his folder every couple months. Or when he comes asking me, “did you see my paper for______”, I tell him to look in his file. I chose a vertical standing file system because it takes up a lot less room, is decorative, and you can’t keep piling on it. The folders to get full and it forces you to go through it. I got mine from Target and I’ve had several comments on it.
This is the kids’ zone. Because I only have two, I have room for each to have their own board. This is the side of my fridge cabinet, so it’s not visible if you walk into my kitchen, but it’s right by the kitchen table so it’s visible and handy when we’re doing homework at the kitchen table. One side is for their current spelling list, Social studies guides, etc. The other side is for paperwork I might need to return. You can also see the tickets and schedules so I’ll talk about them.
We have tried so many different charts and reward systems for behavior, over the past 6 years. We’ve collected pebbles in jars, filled out charts, etc and nothing really worked. At school they instituted a ticket reward system for Jarrett and it’s been fabulous. We have instituted it at home and also at church, for both boys. I purchased those cheap weekly calendars from the dollar bin at Michaels. It has probably 50 sheets, each exactly the same with Sunday through Sat on them, and a magnet on the back. Each week I write down what they have going on for the week-therapy, cub scouts, activities, sports, etc. It’s their own personal calendar. So when they ask 100 times, “What am I doing this week?” or “When is swimming?” I just tell them to look at their calendar. Then, on each day I have taped 3 tickets (I bought a huge roll of something like 2500 for $3.00 at the local store). If the child displays an inappropriate behavior, I simply say-“pull a ticket”. They have to go remove the ticket themselves, tell me what they did wrong and how to fix it, and then throw the ticket away. If they have tickets left at the end of the day, they are rewarded. I used to try and reward them each evening but it never failed that I’d be busy doing something or I’d be tired so I slipped and wasn’t good. Now they know that the prize comes on Saturdays, but they have to keep their charts to be rewarded. On Saturdays, we pull their charts down and they count how many days have tickets left, and then they get that many rewards. I use money now. We did have a treasure chest but I wasn’t good at keeping it filled. And the boys love to shop and it’s teaching them about money and the price of things. I’ve specified a certain amount for each day so they add it up for me. Then we sit down with their piggy banks and I give them the money. I like their piggy banks because it’s divided into three sections: fun, savings and tithing. Right there, they have to separate their money and pay tithing. I’m not pushing the savings right now. I will introduce that later this year. Then, if they want, we go shopping. They used to go shopping every week. Now they are learning that if they save for a couple weeks, they can buy something bigger! And probably more than 50% of the time they “pool” their money to get something nicer. It’s so funny to listen to them barter with each other and decide what to get with their combined money. I have a container sitting out in the kitchen that holds all my supplies like tickets, weekly calendar sheets, stickers, tape, and a stash of one dollars so I can pay them!
While I’m looking at my fridge, I’ll show you what’s on the other side. Also from the dollar bins I have a shopping pad list, and my weekly menu. I used to sit down with Gordon and make up a two week list of foods, and then take it to the store and buy the supplies I needed. Well, the dinner list would end up lost somewhere and I wouldn’t know what I was cooking. And I’ve found that I am much better prepared if I give a date for the meals. This way I can look at my list and see what meats I need to pull out from the freezer so they are defrosted. Or, if I’m making bread, I can see how many loaves I need for the week (we love to make French bread, rolls and bread sticks). And when I’m having a really good week, I do “once a week cooking”. Also, if I’m running late on getting dinner started, all Gordon has to do is look at the fridge to see what he needs to start cooking. So I highly recommend posting your menu for the week. Another nice thing to having it written down on a pad is that I can remove it at the end of the week and put it in the front of my recipe binder. Then when I’m making my menu for the next week, or a couple weeks down the road, I can look back at the weekly menus and see what we’ve eaten, and get ideas for what to have (I don’t have a master list of what we eat yet-I’m working on that).
Ok, that’s what we do. I’m happy to say that I do not have any piles of paperwork sitting around. And it feels good! I think the tips above are really good ones. You need to know what your paperwork is, and have a designated place for each type of paperwork.
Oh, and another thing as I’m sitting here in my kitchen penning this….by our active folder system, which is on our secretary’s desk, I have two magazine holders. One is for the boys’ computer games and DS games (as we have a computer there for them to use so I can see what they are playing). I don’t like keeping all the plastic covers for each game, so we purchased those CD holders with all the sleeves to hold them. Makes it very organized. So that’s in one magazine holder. In the other, we keep our “library stash”. This is for the DVDs and books that we rent for the week from the local library. I like having it in the kitchen because I constantly see it, to remember to take them back and it’s very accessible for the boys to put their books and dvds there when not using them. Also makes it great for me to grab a library book for their 15 minutes of reading homework they have each night. (They are too tired and grumpy to read at bedtime). It really as saved my voice from yelling as we’re trying to get out the door to the library, “where did you lose your DVD cases, or books” etc.
All right, I’ll quit rambling. You’ll spend your hour for organizing today, just reading this post. If you have something that works for you, please post. I love hearing what works, or doesn’t work, for you. It’s a learning process….happy filing!!
